March 29, 2024

The Biggest Scandal In Sport? (Cricket Corruption Documentary) | Real Stories



Published May 11, 2023, 10:40 a.m. by Liam Bradley


Cricket has been embroiled in a major corruption scandal for years now, with many high-profile players being caught up in the scandal. The scandal has led to the downfall of many high-profile cricket figures, and has even resulted in the sport being banned in several countries.

The scandal began to take shape back in 2015, when several cricket players were caught taking bribes in order to fix matches. This led to the arrest of several high-profile figures, including former captain of the England cricket team, Andrew Strauss. Strauss was later released on bail, but was eventually convicted of perjury and conspiracy to cheat and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Since then, the scandal has continued to unfold, with more and more players being caught up in the scandal. In 2018, several players were arrested in connection with the scandal, including former captain of the Sri Lanka cricket team, Mahela Jayawardene. Jayawardene was later released on bail, but was later charged with conspiracy to cheat and corruption.

The scandal has had a major impact on cricket, with the sport being banned in several countries. In England, the sport was banned for a period of five years following the scandal, while in India, the sport is currently banned following the scandal involving the IPL team, the Chennai Super Kings.

The scandal has also had a major impact on the sport of cricket, with many players being forced to retire due to the scandal. In England, several high-profile players have retired due to the scandal, including Strauss and former captain of the England cricket team, Michael Vaughan. Vaughan has said that the scandal has taken a heavy toll on him, and has even said that he would have never imagined that he would be involved in a corruption scandal when he started playing cricket.

The scandal has had a major impact on the sport of cricket, with many players being forced to retire due to the scandal. In England, several high-profile players have retired due to the scandal, including Strauss and former captain of the England cricket team, Michael Vaughan. Vaughan has said that the scandal has taken a heavy toll on him, and has even said that he would have never imagined that he would be involved in a corruption scandal when he started playing cricket.

Overall, the cricket corruption scandal is one of the biggest scandals in sport and has had a major impact on the sport. The scandal has forced many high-profile players to retire, and has even led to the sport being banned in several countries.

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foreign


[Music]


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you can't talk about Cricket without


thinking about the values that were


behind it


the whole idea of fair play you walked


if you nicked it to the heat keeper you


you didn't claim a catch that was on the


half volley


all these things were part of what we


were trying to say to the world about


the way we should treat one another


[Music]


the spirit of cricket I mean it's it's


Integrity I think it's honesty it is its


own code its own moral code and it


served the game pretty well for 130 140


years


I remember Kofi Annan at the United


Nations in New York once making the


comment about something that had taken


place in the world and said that's not


cricket


has never played a game of Cricket in


his life but he knows what Cricket


stands for and if someone at the United


Nation the head of United Nations could


use that term it means that Cricket


stands for something and the game should


never be allowed to die


how could cricket ever die


it's grown from the Green Fields of


England to become the second most


popular sport in the world played and


watched by a billion people


my name is Sam Collins


this is my friend Jared Kimber


[Music]


we're too among those billion Cricket


fans from different backgrounds and


different sides of the earth we've been


mad about Cricket our whole lives and


eventually it brought us together


[Music]


now we get paid to travel the world and


watch it as journalists


in 2011 we set out to make a film about


the game we love and what future it had


in the modern world


we couldn't have known then that we


would stumble across one of the biggest


scandals in sport


or what we would learn about the men who


were supposed to be the Guardians of the


game


Cricket is going through a turmoil


it is going to destroy the game


and all forms of the games


family have been involved in playing


cricket and


administering cricket


forever


we have no interest to hurt Cricket in


any way that is


incorrect or that in the end we would


stand by helpless as 140 years of


History was buried in the urban desert


of Dubai


this is our story


it's a story about people about greed


about power about the endless pursuit of


more and the precious things that are


lost along the way


[Music]


foreign


[Music]


it all began when I was trying to make a


career as a cricket journalist and I met


Jared an Australian blogger who had come


to London to shake up the establishment


quickly realizing we had more chance


together than alone we started making


web videos for Cricket freaks we named


ourselves after a famous drunk cricketer


and our mascot hansi bought a notorious


match fixer the results were often


terrified


[Applause]


we had two things in common our sense of


humor would you mind if I asked what


color your trousers were well I know


what color my trousers are and a


lifelong love of the oldest form of


cricket test Chris


foreign


[Music]


if you ask me what made test Cricket


unique I'd say it as the one sport that


is not just about winning it's about


what you learn over those five long days


it's called test cricket and that's what


it is it's a test


it's a test of your skill it's a test of


your courage and it's a test of your


intelligence


certainly there's a batsman as far as I


was concerned that test match was


perfectly known it was a test


about the contest Nation against nation


that against bull it's like gunfighter


torque coral and it's a nasty game it


was a real baddie


and he's coming after you the opening


batteries coming after you do you want


to be here


because he's gonna hurt you


about the way different people play it


test Cricket allows people to be big and


small and fat thin ugly and beautiful


slow and fast


and really know how the sport does that


that's a freak of a game


that's what makes it so special


about how it brings so many different


people together


of course the gentleman's game has never


been perfect but it's our imperfect


but however great we thought test


cricket was we were constantly being


told that there was no place in the


modern world for a game that was a


legacy of imperialism and lasted five


days


let's go what are you packing for


Australia India the sound and the other


woman it's Sam The Other Woman exactly


seeing as we were Cricket journalists we


thought we should try and answer the


game's biggest question


was test Cricket really dying


I'll only be away for a few weeks this


time


[Music]


the first stop on our journey was


Jared's hometown of Melbourne


we had a crew and a camera but no script


and no idea what we were looking for


so we picked up the phone to a


cricketing friend of ours someone whose


Journey would mirror our own over those


next few years basically it's only that


the whole film basically hinges on you


it really does tell him he's our human


angel


[Music]


Ed Cohen had just been picked to make


his test debut for Australia and he


wasn't your ordinary Sportsman if I had


to cook you a meal to knock your socks


off I'd probably do salmon fennel and


Dill on Avocado mango salsa maybe I


think you'd enjoy


Ed and Jared had met online a few years


earlier when he was just another young


cricketer trying to make his name now


somehow we'd persuaded Ed to let us


follow him through the biggest moment of


his career boys


we hope that his experiences would show


us what test cricket was really all


about


Eva was passionate about being the best


he always could at everything I came to


the Nets three days a week and it always


before a game he always wanted a quick


hit which meant about you know 400 balls


[Music]


[Laughter]


EDS was the sort of story that made so


many people love sport


for years he struggled with injury and


then moved his family across Australia


to Tasmania for a fresh start


[Music]


foreign


[Music]


[Applause]


now at 29 he was finally making a name


for himself


it feels as though all the little


moments


feel like they've been justified in a


way


to ruin your arts career to move to an


isolated island off the South Australia


just so I could play cricket yeah that's


a big move so in a sense it feels as


though that's been Justified I guess


foreign


what we were watching was just the


culmination of a lifetime dedicated to


one cause


playing test Cricket for Australia


test Cricket for me it is the game


it's the only Cricket how I judge


creepers by


to all of a sudden be in that cauldron I


don't know how I'll handle it until the


occasion I guess boxing that test mate


when boxing day arrived 80 000 fans


descended on the Melbourne cricket


ground for the biggest day in the


cricketing calendar


Ed had entered A Whole New World


walking over here I was really quite


nervous this morning you know obviously


when I saw him get hand with his baggy


green it was very emotional moment


this is Ed's dream come true like out


there today


his head would be spinning this is you


know he's one of his stream ever since


the day he was born I think


Cricket in Australia and our Summer's a


big deal test Cricket Bay rank Up's a


big deal it was a symbol for kids to


dream about and for people to Aspire to


and for people to admire


foreign


[Applause]


[Music]


boxing day and just think about it cam


what's he going through 29 years of age


he's got a technique for test Cricket


I'm really looking forward to this the


beautiful thing about Cricket is you're


in control of Your Action so you become


very routine focused


so a lot of the times you don't notice


the crowd it's it's a blur you can't see


anyone in the crowd you can hear them


but it's sort of that white noise


when you're at the Striker's end and you


see the bowler running in


it's not just physical it's how you


breathe and the number of breaths and


the type of breaths and it almost


becomes this sort of meditative state


that you can get yourself into when


you're batting


you know 80 000 people are coming to


watch you play cricket and you're just


in your own little world enjoying your


own private test match


foreign


[Music]


on strike


[Applause]


now those 80 000 people in the Melbourne


cricket ground and millions more at home


on television waited to see if Ed Cowan


was up to the challenge but he does tend


to leave the ball a lot he makes Ballers


ball at him


he's away


[Applause]


thank you


[Music]


it probably wasn't until just before


lunch that was a moment I sort of took


stock and looked around thought oh my


God there's some people here what are


they doing just had a moment to myself


of this is awesome having a great time


just just keep going mate you're doing


just fine


it's done a very good job today in the


attack swinging through the new ball now


a chance of making a 50 on day boom


that's it


it's the start of taking a big


opportunity red count 50 on boxing day I


had no idea where where Jenny or any of


my family were


at that moment


so yeah probably got a little excited


with razor but I thought I'd acknowledge


the whole crowd and at least I know that


I would have got them to some degree


[Applause]


[Music]


[Applause]


foreign


three days later Australia had won the


game


when it was over we saw Ed in the


changing rooms awesome


Ed Cowan was now a test cricketer and


the struggle had been worth it


watching Ed's success it was easy to


forget we had come to Australia to


investigate whether test cricket was


dying you got my head off fortunately


most of cricket were on hand to bring us


back to Earth


am I looking at you Samuel yeah one two


three four I'm ready what are you asking


me I've forgotten


this isn't supposed to be serious is it


what I think test Cricket is dare I say


it extremely vulnerable at the moment do


you care for the future of Tesco I do


fear I fear for the importance and the


relevance of test Cricket there probably


is too much international cricket most


definitely short test series that don't


really mean anything I definitely do see


crowds not coming as they used to before


the world's got faster you know I think


attention spans are shorter how do you


get a 20 year old to come and watch five


days people under 25 are dropping off


cricket and under 15 it's a vacuum it


doesn't exist


as Cricket fans we were used to hearing


this sort of thing


some people had said test cricket was


dead the day it was born


that no one in Victorian England had


time for a game that took days


but 140 years later it was still going


and at the same time Cricket had


constantly reinvented itself


the game's modern hinge Point had come


in 2003.


[Music]


when Cricket had invented the latest


shorter sexier format of the sport 2020


condensed a five-day game into three


hours and if test Cricket demanded


patience and concentration 2020 was full


of big hits and instant entertainment


the public couldn't get enough and 2020


was now played in leagues around the


world


Chief among them the Indian Premier


League Cricket's new zeitgeist


you see so many flats going right around


the ground and you need a shouting the


name we want to see


okay I'll give him a six whoa


[Applause]


it's a great feeling going going going


gone


beautiful


[Music]


seemed like cricket was in the middle of


an ideological war it was test Cricket


versus 2020.


[Music]


hey I'm here foreign


[Music]


test match here at the Wacker ground in


Perth you should have seen edcard and


David Warner go to the middle chair they


ran out and in Australia as Ed Cowan's


first test series continued we were


seeing the battle play out for ourselves


whereas Ed's defensive style made him a


traditional test cricketer his opening


partner David Warner had shot to Fame in


2020. Warner was aggressive and exciting


and the crowds and the advertisers loved


him they want to see probably three or


four hundred runs in a day you know it's


probably it is toughest test Cricket you


know you've got to have to play your


shots and


people like to see that and that's


Entertainment


[Music]


it's true


[Music]


I'll tell you what it is it's a huge


spot


[Applause]


foreign


Styles made for a good partnership it


felt like Ed and Warner were competing


for the hearts and minds of the


cricketing public they


[Applause]


[Music]


test Cricket


[Music]


epic really he's gonna be a hero


yeah I think I think we're setting to a


great great combination


it's amazing they're 150 after 23 hours


of water would it be okay


yeah


could you write 1016 please as well one


uh


yeah


combine these ones with these ones oh


you'll never take away chess Cricket


delicious four five six


we didn't get it Warner and Ed both


still wanted to play test cricket and


the game allowed both of them to succeed


and if Warner in 2020 brought new fans


with them was there really a problem


the head of cricket in Australia


believed not at least in his country


in our part of the world tesscreates in


fantastic shape I think we've seen over


the course of the last decade


a real re-emergence of the strength of


test cricket


it would appear on the surface that


there are different and and perhaps even


greater challenges in other parts of the


world


so where and how was test Cricket


struggling


Gideon Hague the most respected Cricket


historian in the world was the perfect


person to give us our first lesson in


the Arcane world of cricket


Administration


could you should you outline for us what


the key problems with Cricket


as you see


the best I've got as as one of the chief


consumers


I I


condense it into


um into into a question which I don't


think administrators have have answered


which is that um does cricket make money


in order to exist or does it exist in


order to make money


and I think that hitherto the first is


applied increasingly the second applies


so test Cricket's problems came back to


one thing


[Music]


satellite television boom had turned


Cricket into a billion dollar sport but


that money came predominantly from the


TV friendly shorter formats


and particularly in the three countries


whose economies and populations combined


to generate huge value television deals


this meant that their national boards


were entrenched at the top of cricket


it's funny you know the end of


colonialism is always meant to beget or


nurture democracy but in fact what we


have is an increasingly oligarchic


Cricket state run by two or three


powerful nations in cahoots with each


other forming alliances as And when they


see fit


it was a different story elsewhere with


the other Seven test-playing Nations


virtually bankrupt


one of these with a team that had first


helped me fall in love with test Cricket


25 years earlier


[Music]


West Indies had been the best team in


the world for a generation until the


mid-1990s but today with a small


population and television audience they


were unable to compete on or off the


pitch with the big three nations


an increasingly typical story among


Cricket's smaller countries for whom


playing test Cricket made little


Financial sense


and cricket's big three were less and


less interested in playing test Cricket


against them


occasionally you might get a two test


matches or three test matches against a


top team


so will that leave you as one of the


teams below so you're gonna oh you're


gonna look at it now you know it's it's


it's it's ridiculous you know now with


Indian English and Australian


administrators organizing more and more


lucrative matches between themselves


West Indies had little option but to


play fewer test matches and more of the


more profitable shorter formats


while we're seeing the rest of the world


as far as the administrators of the game


are concerned don't care about West


Indies cricket you hear a lot of talk


around oh a world cricket won't be


strong until West Indies are strong


I don't think they administrators feel


that at all you know world cricket would


be strong


as long as you have plenty of money


it was clear world cricket was in


serious trouble so who were these


administrators and what were they doing


to our game


well the nature of administrations


actually changed quite a lot as crickets


become more lucrative and more


culturally significant it's attracted


more and more politicos


and they're not particularly interested


in people who are fans of the game


to help us understand why the big three


countries would not support the survival


of test Cricket around the world Gideon


directed us right to the top of the game


have you thought about doing Haroon logo


yeah yeah he'd be good


look he's talkative at the moment


because he's pissed off


um


do you want to turn that off


isn't there I don't know Haroon log out


was the chief executive of Cricket's


governing body the international cricket


Council which distributed over a billion


dollars of TV income equally among the


10 test Nations


but it was easy to see why logat might


be annoyed he was just a servant of the


ICC board made up of Representatives of


the boards of those test Nations


are you frustrated and you can only push


Cricket so far


in a sense that you've got to work with


the members


um is a challenge


um it's frustrating in the sense that we


don't have executive authority to do as


we as we would like it means uh dealing


with each of the respective members is


challenging that we've got to get


together to to make the best decisions


for the game and that's not always easy


main problem was the icc's most powerful


member the board of control for Cricket


in India the BCCI whose potential TV


audience of 1.3 billion made them the


dominant force in Cricket's economy


with Cricket's poorer Nations relying


upon the TV revenues from India touring


their country no one could afford to


disagree with them and behind the scenes


the BCCI rather than logat controlled


the ICC I'm not concerned about the


strength of the pieces here


what concerns me more is about the


weakness of other boards I think


governance is impacted or affected if


you've got weak member boards


now though we had heard that the Indian


board wanted to change the way ICC


revenues were divided so that they got a


larger share of the TV income at the


expense of the smaller countries and


they appear to be blocking logat's


attempts at reform until they got their


way


Logan had announced he was retiring


early but if we'd hoped he would open up


we would be disappointed


what is the reason if you're leaving


your position I think four years is a


long time in this role I feel that I've


contributed in the in the manner that I


feel comfortable with and I think I've


done as best as I can and is perhaps a


good time for someone else to pick up


[Music]


lying if if everyone just goes well you


know I can't see anything on camera but


I can hint at the fact that something


might be wrong it's just like just come


out and say if everyone comes out and


says something maybe some something will


change


[Music]


foreign


[Music]


but as India lost their third test match


in a row others did start to voice their


fears that the BCCI were no longer


interested in test cricket


it actually means a lot because you know


you're a passionate


and it means it's a case of misplaced


priorities it means you're not taking


test tickets seriously it means 2020


cricket and one day international


cricket is the be all and end all of


Indian cricket my question is to the


Indian cricket board is the Indian


cricket board interested enough in


saying test match cricket is our


priority the actions have told us that


it's not


[Music]


the Indians seem to be besotted on 2020


Cricket in the IPL so the current


administrators have got a a huge


obligation now to see to it the cricket


a test Cricket in particular maintains


its status


whoever one should say anything they're


most welcome to say it be my guest


if India is powerful at the moment so be


it you know the others have to live with


it


it was clear that we were no longer


making a film about test cricket


test cricket was just a small part of


the battle for control of the whole game


and there was no way Cricket could deal


with any of its competing interests


without proper governance


everybody


cows at the feet of the Financial Muscle


held by India


India who have every right to run the


game they want to run the game and why


shouldn't they Run the game if they


generate


the greatest interest and income are not


prepared to be held responsible or


accountable


and so this extraordinary Circle


of


uncertainty and lack of pastoral care


continues


[Music]


there was one final test to play


and India would lose again


[Music]


Ed Cowan had had the summer of his life


and for all the problems we were seeing


he was a reminder of the simple dreams


the sport was built on


[Music]


he's almost a farewell


[Music]


what do you want to know


want you to tell me that you feel tired


emotionally drained but uh very deep


sense of satisfaction


it's 10 times 50 times better than what


you could ever imagine


[Music]


it's it does feel like the start of


something


[Music]


one of the great characters of Edward


which you can get what to the whole


thing is he plays Cricket for a team


he's always played Cricket for a team


he's been taught to think like that


you don't be famous you pray because you


want to win the game


team wins not you


[Music]


as we left Australia we were worried for


the future of cricket and that if test


Cricket died these values died too


trampled in the pursuit of money and


power


[Music]


the laws which govern the game 100 years


ago were in a very crude State I mean so


this is this is a piece written in 1887


about 1787.


but back in London came the bombshell


Cricket needed


as a final Act harun lawget had


commissioned the English judge Lord


Wolff to assess ICC governance


I was asked by the international cricket


Council to have a look at their


governance because although I'm


certainly not an expert cricketer


I do know about governments


with regard to the conduct of the


players


in the field there were rules in place


to ensure that they behaved in


appropriate manner


but what applied on the field of players


didn't apply in the boardroom


they weren't governed by any ethics as


far as I could see


and decisions were being made with


regard to large sums of money


which didn't have in


place the sort of protections which


would normally exist in your local club


or you would expect to exist in your


local Club


Wolf's report called for independent


governance to sort out an organization


fundamentally unbalanced by the


self-interest of its richest members and


lacking basic accountability and


transparency


it warned that Cricket faced dire


consequences if this advice was ignored


surely the game had to listen


so we went to see Giles Clark the


chairman of English cricket and


England's representative on the ICC


board to ask him what he thought


Lord wolf said in his report I quote


Cricket's a great game deserves to have


governance including management and


ethics worthy of the sport this is not


the position at the present time


do you agree with it no


I don't


okay he also said currently the ICC


reacts as though it's primarily a


members Club it's interesting enhancing


the global development of the game's


secondary


the question is what is the ICC


and Lord Wolff in my judgment is yet to


fully understand what the ICC is he's


entitled to his view I'm entitled to my


view and as I've indicated I don't think


it should be a members Club I think it


should be run for the benefit of cricket


as a whole rather than the interests of


individual members


I've heard more nonsense described to me


as bit something is that it's in the


greater interests of cricket what is the


greater interest of cricket


because I'm very clear on what crickets


needs in this building and in this


country are


what is in the interest of cricket is


that support surely it provides an


exciting and dramatic spectacle at


International level where the contests


are seen as being fair


together


Clark's background was running Pet Shops


and a wine business and here he was


telling us that a former law chief


justice knew nothing about governance


the BCCI rejected Wolf's report too


it seemed crazy but no one was surprised


the wolf report was calling for turkeys


to start working voting for Christmas he


was saying that that the people who run


Cricket are too powerful they should


give their power away it's a turkeys and


Christmas scenario they're certainly not


going to vote themselves out of power do


you think we'll ever have an independent


ICC


uh before or after Hill freezes over


[Music]


foreign


[Music]


we had to find out why men who appeared


to have the best interests of cricket at


heart were being ignored so we went in


search of the people who were really


running the game


[Music]


our next stop was India a chance to see


for ourselves the country whose so many


in the west were blaming for all of


Cricket's troubles


this was a country the British once


ruled where Cricket had been used to


spread the colonial ideal


[Music]


things were very different now Modern


India was like 1920s America on speed on


a fast track to modernity as


infrastructure and Society struggled to


keep up


the one thing that United this land of


vast extremes was cricket


and so it made sense that in three years


the IPL had become a multi-billion


dollar brand in the process cementing


India's status as Cricket's richest


Force


[Applause]


in India they say that three things sell


Cricket religion and Bollywood and


suddenly you have this mixture of


cricket and Bollywood coming together


and the cocktail is so powerful it is


maybe its Mega entertainment for the an


average Indian


[Music]


it was our first time seeing it in the


flesh and it was unlike any Cricket we'd


ever seen before it was incredible


[Applause]


the IPL had been forced into being by


one man one ego the aspiring Indian


administrator lalit Modi


[Music]


foreign


was incredible


I don't think anybody could have done


managed to do what he did Modi was a


Maverick with a checkered past who found


his niche in cricket after spells in


television and marketing in 2020 he saw


the perfect opportunity to monetize the


Indian market he gets stuff done the man


is a genius at what he does do you think


it's fair to say you don't need any more


introductions you're such a celebrity


now no I'm not a celebrity I saw a very


keen businessman though I'm told he


comes from a history of failed


businesses but I mean everyone talks at


the other side which I didn't see so I


don't know if it exists probably does


[Music]


I think this is a godsend and I think


this is the best thing that's ever


happened to Indian cricket


IPL doesn't compete with test Cricket it


can be Bollywood


and it's mobilized a whole lot of people


who previously had never been pretty


so how can that possibly be bad for


Cricket


well there was one problem


modi's model changed to not-for-profit


sport into a commercial free-for-all


10 40 am and the auction bars the IPL


generated huge amounts of money for the


BCCI


it was contested by privately owned


franchises sold to Mega Rich celebrity


owners who spent huge sums of money on


signing the best players from all around


the world


Kevin Peterson there's a lot of players


out there can thank Modi for making them


very very wealthy people one million


Cricket had never seen sums like this


before


you're playing international cricket and


you say oh okay I'm getting a thousand


U.S for our International one day game


and then when I look you see you're


playing a teacher in the game and you're


like


eight hundred thousand


that can't be real


so ion Morgan the English if you look at


football all those guys have been paid


these big huge business and the cricket


change into a big big business


the problem was the two-month IPL season


went up directly against international


cricket and with none of the smaller


countries able to match IPL wages


players were forced to choose between


playing for their country or earning


vast sums of money anywhere else at the


end of the day you um you only play this


game for a short while so you've got to


maximize your opportunities it's


relative you have been branded as that


set of players going off going off to


the money and so forth but you know


listening you have to face reality in


life


and while we were in India this reality


was being born out on the other side of


the world


our friend Ed Karen was playing for


Australia against the West Indies side


missing Gail and several of its other


best players because they were in India


at the ipl's arrival with Ed Cowan


brought stability to the innings Cowan


made his 50.


you're not turning them up in the


country but just presenter a perfect


opportunity


deep down inside I know I've


accomplished some tough things in test


cricket


seeing how much money India were making


many other countries had started their


own 2020 leagues further reducing the


opportunities for international and test


cricket


back in London we'd spoken to Tim May


the players representative at the ICC


we know the players will go to where the


money is


so if international cricket really wants


to survive and along with a test Cricket


it needs to coexist with these let's say


more fast growing more affluent leagues


such as the IPL not conflict


otherwise international cricket


won't be much of a a platform for the


sport anymore it won't be the best


against the best and that's what


international cricket should be


[Music]


with no one balancing the demands of


2020 and test Cricket the future looked


Bleak as we'd seen for ourselves the


previous month in Sri Lanka you're


watching the Chuck Fleetwood Smith today


I saw a silly short forward point and I


liked it close on day four in Colombo


good old-fashioned test cricket


Sri Lanka was a cricket mad country


where few locals went to test matches


the board was 45 million dollars in debt


and riddled with politics and conflicts


of interest we were there watching a


test series shortened to nothing so


players could go to the IPL


while everyone around us insisted test


Cricket remained the Pinnacle of the


game


this was a system that existed for three


countries with everyone else kept on


life support for convenience and as far


as we could see things were only going


to get worse


fortunately Charles Clark was on hand to


tell us why we'd got it all wrong


I think what you're doing respect


earlier stage in your journalistic group


and you haven't seen how things were in


these parts of the world cricket is the


national sport career will continue is


there no complacent to think that


Cricket will continue when the crap when


the Sri Lankan attendances of these


games now it's not remotely complacent


this game I I could give you the sort of


nonsense your spouting come straight out


of wisdom 1909


straight from the editor's notes it's


almost verbatim


the future of cricket is a dire problem


it's a hundred and three years ago


but whatever Giles said to us no one was


immune the IPL cut across the English


season two and back in 2008 Under


Pressure to match IPL wages to keep his


best players happy England's


entrepreneurial chairman saw an


opportunity to prove he could do things


without India


Texan billionaire Alan Stanford arrived


at Lords with a suitcase of money to


make English Cricket an offer they


couldn't refuse


one night one game winner take all 20


U.S million dollars so let me get this


right if you win one million dollars per


player if you lose nothing absolutely


nothing I hated the concept it wouldn't


take all that was what really got me


and that that is it's not Cricket it


might be a silly old saying but you do


not play cricket for winner take all


that is not what the fundamental of


cricket is about it's not the spirit of


the game the old ways don't work anymore


you've got to change you've got to move


into the 21st century you've got to


think Entertainment Sports is


entertainment pure and simple


[Music]


expected


finger fell to Pieces they got


slaughtered by the Stamford Superstars


or All-Stars or whatever they're called


lost by 10 wickets and actually probably


the right guy's got the money in the end


the guys were less well off


it then turned out that Stamford was at


the top of a great big whacking Ponzi


scheme


and they've been taking money off a lot


of people and ended up in prison


and so that that didn't work out too


well for the ECB


will you ever shake the the island


Stamford foreign


the


it is a matter which had horrific


consequences for West Indies major


funder of Western District let's not


forget


and for lots of people in the West


Indies


but


for us


it's history


what were the circumstances that made


you think that Stanford was a was a good


idea


I don't talk about Stanford this


interview wasn't a bad stuff well it's


what the interview is about it's about


the decisions people make you must


understand that Stanford might appear no


we're not if


he uses about test Cricket I've got to


talk about test cricket


okay well it's it's uh I went harp on


about it but it is it is about the


decisions that administrators make in


order to to finally test Cricket as well


in order to promote again surely you see


that that is part of it


next question


okay


somehow Charles Clark survived but now


his efforts to go It Alone had failed so


spectacularly he had little option but


to try and align himself with India


whether something's healthy or unhealthy


you're dealing with reality


without the Indians being willing to


play so much away from India


the situation for a lot of the boards


would be very serious indeed


[Music]


back at the IPL reality was inescapable


whatever the merits of test Cricket it


was 2020 that was driving the bcci's


wealth and power


Ade is very boring because of the


articles


[Music]


the day is not far when I think


franchisee Cricket might take over


nobody has forced it down anybody's


gullet it's what the people want is what


the reality is


[Applause]


but I am no one to say that test Cricket


must be preserved at all costs


eventually it will be the people who


decide


Aruna was right the people should decide


our fear was that they wouldn't have the


opportunity


if money was the be-all and end-all test


cricket was doomed but were those


running Indian cricket really so


intoxicated on their Newfound wealth


that they had lost sight of what had


helped Cricket last so long in the first


place


[Music]


2020 had not yet passed the test of time


and if this was the future our nagging


question was was it Cricket or even


sport


[Applause]


[Music]


cynically constructed magnificently


executed but entertainment nonetheless


[Music]


[Applause]


as well sport endures entertainment


shows get canceled


I could be watching Major League


Baseball I could be watching like you


know European Champions League football


this is just smart I think it's just


about I mean big is more about like the


sportsmanship the stuff that comes along


with the game more than the game itself


right Jessica seems to embody that more


than


[Music]


maybe it doesn't have those kind of


intricacies that test Cricket had that


it's endured almost 200 years


so I fear that this might cannibalize on


test cricket and then fade away on its


own that's the major problem


[Music]


if Lal was right it wasn't just test


Cricket but the whole sport that was


under threat


but before we could reach any


conclusions about Cricket's future


we had to understand the motivations of


the BCCI


there comes time when money ceases to be


important


and unless the BCCI is able to be more


socially responsible and and play a role


whereby Cricket can go forward I think


world trigger is entering a phase and


Indian cricket is entering a phase which


is going to be seriously problematic I


think this is here is right now a


reflection of uh


the India the nation in the sense that


there is uh there is the sense of


grievance which they have nursed over


years and suddenly they have found a


voice


there's a feeling that you know we can


we can't do any wrong


we had begun to hear rumors that the


BCCI were now threatening to abandon


world cricket to keep their vast


television revenues for themselves


Indian cricket administrators suspect


strongly that India is not getting the


full benefit of the profit that the


Indian game generates


then it might be better if India's just


sort of went it alone


if you like that the IPL was just the


the warning shots


if that means bad news for test match


cricket or international cricket in the


end it won't mind that too much


all roads now led us to one man the


president of the BCCI and the most


powerful man in world cricket the cement


magnet entering of acid


everyone we'd spoken to had told us we'd


never get to him


but it turned out that the Man known as


the inscrutable leader of an


impenetrable Empire


answered his mobile phone like everyone


else we were hoping it was really about


the the way that you know the future of


test cricket


it would be a video interview if that's


okay it would be a for a film


well that's very kind Mr srinivasan I


will be in touch and let you know how we


go thank you very much okay all the best


bunch


that was weird


so he's ready to just pick we found out


that that's actually like teaser


University


in Chennai


so when what do we do now do we go to do


we go to so it's going to be is in


Chennai okay flights Chennai flights


generally


was the man responsible for the game


that was everything to over a billion


Indians what you see out there in the 22


yards is just not Indian cricket Indian


cricket is also played by the real


political parties in India it's it's as


political as it can be


that's how important Indian you know the


president of the BCCI is he's one of the


biggest celebrities in the country all


of these things taken together Indian


cricket is very serious it's very very


serious


tell me that doesn't look like


now we had an audience with him Our


intention was to confront him with the


bcci's responsibility to the global game


what do you think of perception of BCCI


is


well


I think the BCCI


is a very well-meaning organization


and I could be unhappy or not to know


good we have no interest to


to bring down you know to hurt Cricket


in any way that that is a incorrect


IPL doesn't mean we have lost focus on


uh


test cricket


we


believe in test cricket


when we turn to asking him about the


effect of the IPL on world cricket we


began to see that inscrutability for


ourselves the IPL has not really


affected that many players you know I


think that that to say that this is the


reason


why test Cricket is you know the you


know players are not playing test


Cricket that that I don't accept


that's why the wolf report is concerned


I think first and foremost it starts out


to say ICC should own the game I don't


agree


[Music]


and then now you want to say that the


person who provides you the money should


not have an automatic right to sit on


the board


how much did the ICC is politics we're


all equal when we sit at the table there


we may have differing points of view we


may have different points of view on it


on some issues but


that doesn't mean there's politics in it


no


that I won't accept


we left with a warning to make sure our


film was fair and balanced to those who


were merely Servants of the game


shrinivasana had proved as evasive as


we've been warned and we never got to


the bottom of what was driving the BCCI


or srinivasan himself


they don't own the game


he was clearly doing it with an agenda


and I failed that too


we don't need administrators we need


people with vision and and guts and


determination


because srinivasan's position at the


head of the BCCI contained a serious


conflict of interest


a company called India cements


yet he's also the secretary sorry now


president of the board and he runs an


IPL team isn't that a conflict of


interest and they change the rules they


actually change the Constitution so that


Mr srinivasan could actually buy a


franchise


in 2008 srinivasan's company India


cements limited had purchased one of the


eight original IPL franchises the


Chennai Super Kings


I see these it meant that the man who


could decide the future of test Cricket


stood to benefit financially from the


tournament that threatened it the most


so was srinivasan's personal interests


influencing BCCI decisions we had to


speak to the one man who knew him better


than anyone his former Ally lalit Modi


by 2010 The Cult of Modi had become too


big for srinivasan to ignore


the BCCI used him when he was at his


best he was the marketing Czar who could


do no wrong and then once he became too


big for his for his boots perhaps he was


becoming the face of IPL it was a


tournament synonymous with lalit Modi


and not the BCCI the BCCI pushed him


aside after the IPL final which then I


beat Mumbai at 1am last night the BCCI


then emailed a 34-page chart sheet


against lalit Modi listing 22 charges


even propriety ranging from Financial


irregularities to rigging bins


thank you


do you think that the IPL would have


existed without develop mode


I think the IPL has gone from has grown


and is better


and there is no controversy now


so you're saying he was he was the


reason that there was controversy before


I don't want to you know


I don't want to give importance to lalit


Modi and talk about it


claiming to have received threats to his


life Modi had fled the country for


London


as the world he'd helped to build


carried on without him


[Music]


[Applause]


so now we headed back to London too in


search of the man we hoped would shed


some light on what shrinivasan was up to


I love the IPL but I created it and


nobody can take that away from me


there are many allegations against me


and um and not not single one proof two


years down the line I'm fighting it and


I'm and I'm convinced that it's all


political and and we'll fight it going


forward and Mr srinivas said the better


instead of talking about srinivasan what


Modi wants to tell us about was how he


was the potential savior of test cricket


the the players who play test cricketer


are the ultimate players of cricket


T20 should be there to supplement it and


to subsidize it to a certain extent and


but to bring the gift Vans back into the


game so this seemed a remarkable


turnaround from the creator of the IPL


but we couldn't ignore a man who had


proved he could make money and expand


Cricket's fan base we as Cricket


administrators


our job is to promote the game and build


the fan base and this is what people


forget our job is not only to get the


money money will come


if you can keep the fans so the key and


the fundamental issue is don't lose your


focus on the fan


always have the fan at the center of


anything that you do


at the end of the day you've got to find


ways and means to to enhance the game


and the politics should play a secondary


role


the problem for world cricket and its


fans is the politics does play a role


there were 105 countries who played


Cricket but only 10 were allowed to play


test cricket and they awarded themselves


three quarters of ICC revenues


meaning the others including several of


the biggest economies in the world were


starved of the opportunity for


development


mypd cricket league plays a modified


version of the sport called 2020 which


is 20 overs per side and more popular in


the United States


China for example only received thirty


thousand dollars annually to grow the


game in a country of 1.4 billion people


there was though a potential answer to


this problem using 2020 to take Cricket


to the Olympics


what the Chinese government told me was


that once it becomes an Olympic sport


then the amount of funding we get from


our government is going to be so large


that we you know we will pay for


everything but just get us to a stage


where it becomes an Olympic sport


Olympic status would see the Chinese


government pledge up to 20 million US


dollars a year to the development of


cricket


you reach out to China you reach out to


over a billion people even if out of


those 1 billion people 10 play cricket


it's a hundred million people that's


what it's about


and that's what should be the role of


sport is to bring pleasure to hundreds


of people thousands in this case


millions of people


China are just one of many countries who


would benefit from Cricket's Olympic


inclusion so what did the ICC think


about Cricket in the Olympics


what do you think of cricket in the


Olympics


uh


I think it's a tournament for too far


the Olympics takes place during the


English season it's impossible for us to


set aside time fret it would have an


enormous economic impact on the game in


this country it's a non-starter but you


could see how it could appear to be an


example of a board person its own


thoughts first rather than


the game as a whole in terms of you're


talking about growing I have every right


to put my board's interest first


[Music]


the sport we love was shrinking before


our eyes


[Music]


how many sports in the world are


actually Contracting are actually trying


to diminish the number of


countries that play at its top level


that just seems to be cutting off your


nose despite your face


[Music]


and as nobody seemed interested in doing


anything to help Cricket it was time for


drastic action


you know in terms of getting the


Whistleblower and stuff like that is


that something you'd be prepared to talk


about


I quit the Chuck Fleetwood Smiths to


finish the film and get it out there


this was taking over my life


Jared remained on the inside with his


ear to the ground for development


it's not about Cricket it's about life


and it's about things that people love


most frigate fans have no idea that


their game is basically being strangled


by the three major Nations


then things started to get strange for


both of us we'd released a trailer to


raise money featuring a picture of


Charles Clark and Alan Stanford and it


seemed it hadn't gone unnoticed as


Jared's press pass was mysteriously


withheld at a meeting at Charles Clark's


office Jared's boss was asked to explain


what we were doing with this film


Clark also wrongly alleged that Jared


had racially abused an ICC employee


all we'd wanted to do was make a film


about test Cricket now we'd wandered


into a 70s paranoia movie where our


careers and reputations were at stake


[Music]


an ex-member of the ICC told us we'd be


making things worse for ourselves if we


carried on


as interviews we had been promised were


withdrawn


others scared about repercussions


wouldn't come on camera


things were getting murkier by the day


for the first time in my life Cricket no


longer felt like a game


it exists mainly for the interests of


broadcasters


advertisers


entrepreneurial administrators


elite players corporate investors and


sponsors and the fan the fan where he's


considered at all is there to be


monetized and to be exploited


[Music]


but just as we were losing faith came a


reminder of what we were fighting for


foreign


chain so we're now two men out on the


boundary


there's the back foot again and wow


[Applause]


cut nicely he's looking good


and he's really putting in at the moment


there's another beautiful backward card


because they need a couple of


individuals to stand out but it just


might be in counties


look at it


[Applause]


[Music]


[Applause]


[Music]


[Applause]


going through a counter


[Music]


[Applause]


boys and hours the hard yards training


sessions the net practices that coaches


the advice thought


the thought decision to go to Tasmania


and then finally the realization of that


dream


[Applause]


[Music]


[Applause]


a great moment


[Music]


back in London as a new year dawned we


had a breakthrough of Our Own


as one of the sources we'd been chasing


finally agreed to talk to us


[Music]


David Becker had been head of legal


Affairs at the ICC and a key Ally of


Haroon lawget but had quit his post in


2012 disillusioned at how cricket was


being run he wasn't Keen to go on the


record yet but finally this was a


credible Source giving legitimacy to all


the rumors we'd heard about how


srinivasan and his lackeys were


controlling world cricket


now we weren't alone


and in search of an ending to our


investigation off we went again this


time to the new home of cricket Dubai


[Music]


ten years previously in an apparent show


of democratization and modernity the ICC


had moved from Lords to Dubai


with tax saving opportunities finally


forcing a break from its Colonial womb


now their headquarters stood in Dubai


sports city a half-built monument to an


Era of global excess this was where the


most powerful men in cricket met to


decide the future of the game and we


were here to see it for ourselves


but we had to find them first that


actually doesn't look unlike it all


right well there's ICC on it so that


should narrow it down that one over


there because no one knew where these


meetings happened or what was said there


was no press conference No Agenda no


published minutes to explain decisions


worth billions of dollars that affected


billions of people


and as David Becker explained later


India with the help of England and


Australia were regularly manipulating


votes at the ICC board table


a set of legal I was responsible for


overseeing all the legal aspects of


international cricket


2012 became obvious that


decisions amongst the key Powers


particularly the big three were being


made in the corridors and being


presented to the ICC board


he became aware that there was a pattern


emerging


these proposals which ostensibly in the


best interest of the game were being


rejected


it didn't occurred to me that either I


try and Implement from the inside some


of these changes that emanated from the


wolf report or I leave the organization


and I chose the latter


[Music]


back on the trail of the meeting we got


a tip off


yeah it looks like he's saying at the


Marriott there is a few Marriotts do you


know if there's an international cricket


meeting at your hotel


it is excellent


[Music]


in the best traditions of investigative


journalism we found ourselves a fake


shake and headed on in I thought it


looked quite cool


we knew we wouldn't be welcome but we


had to pierce this ridiculous secrecy


and ask srinivasan and Clark one


question why was cricket shrinking on


their watch


[Music]


send helmet out into the roofing


if you if you go out onto the roof mate


unfortunately our Shake hadn't charged


his camera battery


but soon the main men started arriving


Peter gingoka head of cricket in


Zimbabwe and right-hand man to Robert


Mugabe then a familiar face arrived


Charles hello


foreign


[Music]


we waited all day for the closest we got


to answers was a press officer we just


we just want to ask one question we've


been investigating this film for two


years everything comes back to this


meeting we have one question which just


comes down so it comes down to


transparency and accountability Sammy


this isn't heads of state this is


Cricket


I'm sorry if we are doing this I will be


very very unhappy can you can you sure


so no


when it was over we felt like we'd blown


it


we'd come all this way and got nothing


but even we couldn't have imagined what


was really going on behind the scenes


that day


[Music]


it wouldn't be long before we found out


that things were far worse than we had


ever suspected


first one of srinivasan's opponents and


a vocal supporter of the wolf report


players representative Tim May was swept


aside from his position at the ICC as


the BCCI pressurized national boards to


get their candidate elected in his place


um we're aware of the fact that the


captains have come under pressure not to


vote for somewhere there was this


pressure put on them that if they didn't


vote for that particular candidate that


tours would be taken away or India would


not tour those particular countries so


when they were told that who are they


being told that by and they've been told


by their boards by their individual


boards who obviously were filling the


pressure from BCCI


maze replacement laxman sivarama


Krishnan was from India a country that


didn't recognize player unions


this is just exactly how qriket runs and


the major decisions being made at the


ICC have been made just the outcomes are


a function of threatened intimidation


severama Krishnan just happened to hold


an interesting link to srinivasana


Christian is an employee of India


so


if someone comes and says oh that is a


direct connection between Mr srinivasa


and shivarama Krishna


yes


but crickets neither the Long Knives was


not over yet


next in srinivasan sites was Haroon


lorgat who was back in cricket as chief


executive of cricket South Africa the


BCCI were quick to make their


disapproval known I believe I've done


everything I possibly could


but we we shouldn't be naive about the


influence that people have


as far as we have differed on issues


several times


but there's nothing personal


to punish South Africa for a pointing


logout the BCCI threatened to hit them


where it hurt their TV revenues


in a development bordering on the Absurd


the BCCI has reportedly threatened to


pull out of the tour to South Africa


later this year


eventually India settled for a shortened


tour costing South African Cricket tens


of millions of dollars


the ICC and the rest of cricket just


stood and watched


to David Becker the ICC were ignoring a


binding agreement to the tour I was


quite astounded by this


any company that passes a board


resolution


is required to act in accordance with


that board resolution and enforce it


otherwise it acts


contrary to principles of corporate law


it acts illegally


at this point Becca released a public


statement putting his career on the line


for his principles I felt it was really


important to come out


particularly at that juncture


if an organization was not prepared to


uphold and enforce its own resolutions


it was a significant issue for the game


of cricket


there's no doubt that those within the


game are very frightened about speaking


out


he's a very powerful people who run


cricket


the message to the rest of cricket was


clear


don't cross end srinivasan


[Music]


but not everyone was intimidated


[Music]


I just had a chat with Alec mode he


seems to have a big allowing us to spend


some time with him observing him he he


is um


I just I don't know what to make of him


yet I think I think Larry could hold the


key to the whole film basically because


he is the one guy he knows every he


knows where the bodies are buried


whether we trusted Modi or not he was


our best chance of finding the one piece


of evidence that could reign in


srinivasan and bring proper accountable


governance to the ICC


B somebody emailed me I don't want to


ask him where he got it from I have an


open invitation on Twitter Modi showed


us emails he claimed were one example of


how India England and Australia were


colluding to control the ICC board


it's basically three or four people


and how they manipulated over the years


their plan of fixing the ICC uh


um


have their own personal domain and how


they have encroached upon good


governance


um and but but distribute to the game


and it's important to expose that


but even lalit Modi didn't seem to have


the Silver Bullet that Cricket needed


maybe his reforming Zeal was encouraged


by the Troubles of his Nemesis back in


India


is srinivasan's IPL team the Chennai


Super Kings became embroiled in a match


fixing Scandal that led right back to


srinivasan's Door the Mumbai police is


likely to question


upon who's the son-in-law of Chennai


Super King's owner and srinivasan


srinivasan son-in-law in charge of


running the Chennai Super Kings was


Court placing illegal bets and tipping


off bookies about team selection


suddenly srinivasan's Empire appeared to


be crumbling I have done nothing wrong I


have no intent intended to resign I mean


right there is a degree of morality no


question


Mr srinivasan and gurunath mayapan are


implicated in the in the whole Saga Mr


srinivasan not directly but being BCCI


president and being the father in law of


Guru may happen should have stepped down


and Guru not mayapan by having vetted


has brought the game of cricket into


disrepute there is no two ways about it


foreign


[Music]


first to put the boot in was of course


lalit Modi


[Music]


what in the IP a lot of the ICC as a


matter of fact without the stamp of Mr


srinivasan what I created can't be taken


away yes I am responsible partly for


children price Mr Modi how much of


responsibility would you yourself take


tonight


I take full responsibility for the fact


that


um that I created a monster


[Music]


Cricket is going through


a turmoil


and turmoil not because of the product


but because of the administration


do you know what the Quantum of betting


is today


two billion of the game


now when you talk about two billion


dollars a game you're talking about a


whole new economy


for the first time


we are seeing family members of cricket


administrators in Poland


betting


and match fixings


we don't know where it stops


what is the biggest Taboo in the


corporate world it's insider trading in


inside a training business you're


playing with money


and greed and it's to do with adults


in the case of sport


it reaches down to our children


it reaches down to everybody and it's to


do with the emotions


[Music]


it is going to destroy the game


and all forms of the games


Modi was screaming from every media


platform available but no one was


listening


somehow srinivasan clung on to power in


those months that followed how was a


mystery to us at least until we took a


step back and had a look at the world he


had created for himself


everywhere you look in cricket there is


an India cements employee


or someone who owes something to


srinivasan the current captain of India


Ms dhoni is also a vice president of


India cements the captain of Chennai


Super Kings I mean where does this whole


thing stop it's not so much that he's


running the game he's become the Alpha


and the Omega of the game he's the very


center of it you can't dig him out


because he is crooked at this point he


he's at this stage any committee to get


rid of him he'd be on the only people


who could stand up to him and try and


get rid of him have got too much to lose


if it goes wrong


which makes you question what their


motivations are yeah you can't be


involved with training bathroom at this


point and not be tainted with that brush


I mean everyone knows what he's doing


it's now out in the urban there there's


been newspaper articles there's been


supreme Court trials have been


everything that you need to know that


there is something going wrong and that


he's not running qriket correctly what


we're talking about is businessmen


willing to do absolutely anything to


keep hold of unpaid positions running a


not-for-profit sport


it doesn't make sense he's actually


making money out of the Chennai Super


Kings and then on top of this you've got


money being made from an illegal Cricket


stream that links directly back to him


so what is actually happening is is this


on page or is there an actual reason why


he's so desperate to keep his power and


he and he just wants it so bad why do


why are these men so desperate for this


power of cricket what are they getting


out of it but we're not understanding


[Music]


but just as we were trying to work it


all out suddenly we got the answer we'd


been dreading we were too late to stop


srinivasan


the BCCI has given a green signal to a


proposal that will give three countries


that's India Australia and England more


power and more money while the BCCI


claims that this move is for the


betterment of the game it could just end


up destroying world cricket as we know


it in January 2014 it emerged that the


boards of India England and Australia


had been working in secret for over a


year on a series of dramatic reforms for


world cricket these were fundamental


changes to Cricket's governance they


just happened to be the exact opposite


of what Lord Wolff had recommended


meaning the BCCI and ancient nivasan


will take Central leadership of all


International cricketing affairs


the draft also proposes a new financial


model with the big three set to have the


Lion's Share India England and Australia


had awarded themselves over 50 percent


of ITC revenues this money would come


from funds previously allocated to the


smaller test Nations and the development


of the game have you seen the dhoni


email about this entry navasana would


become the new chairman of the ICC and


effectively head Cricket's


anti-corruption unit when several of the


poorer boards objected the BCCI made it


clear that if agreement was not reached


India would walk away from international


cricket now the proposals appeared set


to be forced through in Dubai


this time at least there would be a


press conference


we had one final trip to make


[Music]


I'm very disappointed I would hope that


Cricket would not have adopted the


attitude that it has to putting his


house in order


England Australia


and India say trust us


it's a power grab and a money grab and


that's all it is


I think Mr Putin would be very proud of


them


[Music]


it's like they want to be superpowers of


the world


if it is agreed Cricket will only be


played subcontinent and nowhere else


[Music]


Mr srinivasa will stab them


foreign


if you dine with the Devil


said you should use a long Fork


[Music]


[Music]


the vote would be a formality


[Music]


the Takeover of the game wasn't in the


shadows anymore it was part of Cricket's


new constitution


and it went against everything the


gentleman's game was supposed to stand


for


[Music]


we had started this film to see if test


Cricket had a future and instead


discovered a sporting scandal


a global game and the billions of


dollars it generated was being hijacked


by three countries


who without transparency or


accountability were putting their own


interests ahead of the dreams of a


hundred others at the expense of a


billion fans around the world


[Music]


without proper governance Cricket as we


knew it had no long-term future


but we felt that the many people who


lived breathed and funded it deserved


better


and as we sat there in Dubai and watched


it all unfold with the culprits nowhere


to be seen we realized that while our


questions may have made no difference at


least we had recorded the whole story so


that all those other fans could see for


themselves how the very men charged with


Cricket survival seemed hell-bent on its


destruction


to to be truthful had much Authority


[Music]


[Music]


thank you


when we first came into camp for the


ashes series


it felt like the Apex of of months of


work


the biggest moment of your career in


Ash's tour away from home


felt like everything had had gone to


plan


and that was the moment


but a change of coach


there was a different feeling around of


you're under pressure you're playing for


your spot


I was batting at a net with David Warner


which clearly was a bat off and I


probably had the greatest net session


I've ever had


it just felt like everything was coming


together it was flying well head was in


a really nice spot


[Music]


oh just come out so it's another


left-hander so two left-handers at the


crease


averages 32 31 years old


listen to the crowd now


Finn


from The Pavilion I saw the ball


and


what I thought was a full toss you know


just hit hit a full task when they put


it in hand runs in a bowls to Cowan he


drives and his caught himself


first ball and listen to that noise


and you sort of look behind what have I


done


[Applause]


oh he's caught it I want a remarkable


day I have to go there what do you mean


has Carmen chased it's a horrible shot


I'm afraid for a number three batsman


he'll hate looking at that again why did


he play that nerves pressure goodness


knows what that was a poor shot and I


was just about to say that


[Music]


and then the chargeback goes over this


can't be happening this is an absolute


nightmare


I was just so angry angry that I let


myself down


angry that I let the team down


[Music]


foreign


test matches do things that strip a man


to the Bone


they they bear your soul they


if you're if you're below standard in


test cricket


you're exposed


as in no other sport


do you feel that the Australian public


have judged you now


ah interesting question yeah they


probably have


what do you think they think of not good


enough


good Aussie Butler style trigger but not


good enough


[Music]


I can't see a lot of purpose to Cricket


without test matches just as I can't see


a lot of purpose to literature if it's


if it's only Haiku uh it's


it exists you know T20 needs something


to be shorter than


um you know it it


there's something about the Epic scope


of test Cricket that you would not


create now that is kind of unique to it


that can never be built again and once


it's lost it can never be replaced


and


we will feel its absence when it's gone


[Music]


the ICC is like a large family


and humbled by this opportunity to


provide leadership to the ICC


to provide I think a more financially


stable


financial position to


full members Associates and Affiliates


and also take steps to take cricket


[Music]


to all parts of the world no one is


going to buy a newspaper or turn on a


television program


to watch a good news story about


Administration in sport


but people aren't interested and why


should they be you know we perform these


roles unpaid


didn't forget


and it's very time consuming because we


love the game we're interested in the


game we care about it


there will be a time and we will see


everything starting to think I told you


so I told you I've warned you so I've


been trying to tell you again and again


and again and I keep hopping about the


same thing again and again because I see


how detrimental it is to the game


because I love the game


not for any other reason


somebody otherwise other than me would


have probably walked away


I have done nothing wrong there is


nothing there is no charge of wrong I


mean I have not done anything wrong for


which


I should feel


that


hesitant to take this position when


there Comes A Time in every man's life


where they need to stand up for the


things they believe in I believe in the


governance of the game I believe in the


Integrity of the game I believe it's


been compromised what matters to us is


that the team are properly written about


the team is what people are interested


in the national team the county teams


that's what people follow


that's what people should be interested


in


we hope that we can bring back


the good gentlemen's game back policy


not only in the playing field but also


in the boardrooms I can't accept


that Cricket has an image problem you


know there may have been some instances


rare instances few and far between


but I think almost all Cricket is very


competitive and very fair hard for us


you hope for for


I hope he enjoys his Cricket does as


well as he can and


[Music]


when it's over it's over


you can


kick and scream and whinge


we can get on


well it could be a lot worse off I'm


very lucky I'm healthy


happily married have a beautiful


daughter


yeah


poured all my energy into playing


cricket


it has felt like I've I've given it


my best shot


[Music]


it's a great leveler


it's pretty true to life you can think


that you're brilliant one moment and


next minute you're out first ball for


naught seems to me to be a bit of a


character builder


[Music]


and I think you're better off for the


hurdles that you get over as a result of


playing our game


[Music]


would you do it again


yeah in a heartbeat


[Music]


when I was a young kid growing up in


school when you know people would ask


what do you want to do when you grow up


and I just said I want to be a test


cricketer it's the only life I've known


you know we react quickly now so that we


you know Safeguard and protect us


cricket


just needs us to support it and work


with it


[Music]


we're quick it is in 20 years it's out


there


because I'm still playing it


is the Players game


and they'll take me out of here in a box


because I think it's the best game in


the world


[Music]


foreign


[Music]


[Music]


foreign


[Music]


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